HEALTH

Direct Payments

Stephen Ladyman: The Government are committed to see an increase in the take-up of direct payments, as they are an excellent way for individuals using social services to gain control and independence over their own lives. Direct payments are cash payments made in lieu of social service provisions to individuals who have been assessed as needing services. I understand that some councils are expressing some confusion about the ability of individuals using their direct payments to pay a spouse or other close relative.
	Direct payments cannot be used routinely by individuals to pay spouses, or close relatives who live in the same household. The regulations were changed in April 2003 to give local councils some discretion in this matter. They can allow payments to be made in this way, but only where they are satisfied that securing the service from the relative is necessary to meet satisfactorily that individual's need for that service.
	Regulations have never specified that close relatives living outside the household could not be paid using a direct payment and there is no legal restriction on individuals using their direct payment in this way. Councils are however able to make conditions about who can be employed in individual circumstances. There are often legitimate reasons for doing so but a decision should be taken according to the merits of each individual case.

Hepatitis C Compensation Scheme

John Reid: The Department announced in August of last year the setting up of an ex-gratia payment scheme for people infected with Hepatitis C from National Health Service blood or blood products. Since that announcement, work has progressed on the detail of the scheme.
	The UK scheme will award eligible claimants with initial lump sum payments of £20,000 to all those who now have Hepatitis C from blood or blood products, with a further £25,000 being awarded when people reach a more advanced stage of illness.
	We feel that these are fair and reasonable payments and hope that they will help alleviate some of the problems people who have been affected in this way are experiencing.
	Work is ongoing to set up the independent body that will administer the scheme and to introduce the necessary legislation so that people will not lose their social security benefits as a result.
	In the course of negotiations we have been able to define a further level of detail on eligibility and scheme administration which will be advantageous to claimants. In particular, bureaucracy will be minimised for people making a claim, in recognition that it will be difficult for some people to gather evidence from twenty years ago.
	The scope of the scheme has also been extended to include people who have cleared the virus as a result of treatment and to those infected as a result of the virus being transmitted from someone who was infected from blood or blood products. The scheme will also consider people who were infected with HIV as well as Hepatitis C in the same way as those only infected with the Hepatitis C virus.
	Work is progressing on finalising the application process for awards and setting up the independent body that will administer the scheme. Organisations such as the Haemophilia Society and Hepatitis C Trust will be fully involved in that work to help ensure the procedures are as user friendly as possible.
	We will work with the relevant organisations to ensure claimants know what to do to make an application.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Post-Primary Education

Jane Kennedy: The Government are today publishing the report from the working group, chaired by Mr. Steve Costello, which was asked to provide advice about new post-primary arrangements in Northern Ireland. Copies of the report are being placed in the Library. As part of its remit, the working group was asked to take account of the responses to the extensive consultation on the Burns report, including the diversity of views on academic selection.
	The working group's advice has been carefully considered. The review of post-primary education has been ongoing for over 5 years. The uncertainty about the shape of post-primary education must be ended. The Government believe that the advice provides a sound basis for moving forward and has accepted the recommendations in full.
	Many Northern Ireland schools enjoy a high reputation, but the current transfer and post-primary arrangements have significant weaknesses. They do well for some pupils but not for others, and there are inequalities of access. These issues must be addressed.
	The key concept of the new arrangements is an entitlement framework to guarantee access for all pupils to a wide range of academic and vocational course options. This will directly address the current disparity of access to courses and, for the first time, secure a proportion of provision as being vocational. It will complement the revised statutory curriculum being proposed by CCEA and will provide increasing choice and flexibility as pupils mature. Extensive collaboration among schools and with FE colleges will be required in order to secure the full range of provision in each locality.
	The working group advised that any alternative selection arrangements would be no less problematical than the current arrangements; that it is educationally unsound to select pupils at age eleven; that eleven is too early to commit pupils to particular pathways; and that it is unsound to believe that the more able should follow only academic courses. Academic selection will end and new transfer arrangements will be based on informed parental and pupil choice. An academic route will remain available, but pupils and parents will choose this pathway rather than being selected for it.
	Ending the transfer tests immediately would create a huge demand for places in popular schools and it will be necessary to create the conditions for new arrangements to work. The entitlement framework and the associated collaboration arrangements will need to be in place. The pupil profile, being developed by CCEA, will also need to be in place to give parents the information to help make informed decisions, and new admissions criteria will be required to determine admissions where schools are oversubscribed. The group recommended that further work is required to determine those criteria and Government will be taking this forward immediately.
	To provide the time to create the conditions to end the tests, the working group recommended that the last tests should be held in Autumn 2008. The Government have accepted this advice.
	The Government are not specifying what types of schools will exist under future arrangements. Any school offering access to the entitlement framework has a place in the new arrangements. These could include new school types such as specialist schools able to respond to local opportunities and needs. Schools where the curricular emphasis is on academic courses will continue to exist provided they meet the entitlement framework, including access to a range of vocational courses as well as academic courses.
	Implementation will involve schools and FE colleges working together to develop arrangements for their area. Support will be provided to help them through this process and to facilitate local discussion and decision-making. Officials will be taking forward consideration of related policy issues such as school transport, open enrolment and the arrangements for school funding. This work, and the work on admissions criteria, will provide opportunities for consultation with education partners and others on the detailed aspects of the proposals.
	The Government believe the working group has charted a way forward which deserves the widest support. It is a new and bold approach to guarantee access to an educational entitlement for every pupil irrespective of their background or circumstances, where they live, or the school they attend. It will impact on all schools and the Government will be working in partnership with the education sector to tailor the post-primary arrangements to meet the specific needs of Northern Ireland.
	Pupils need to be prepared for life and work in a modern technological world and a global economic market where the pace of change is accelerating. The Government's decisions today create the conditions to take this forward, to raise standards for all pupils and provide the world-class education they rightly deserve.

Northern Ireland Prison Service

Jane Kennedy: The Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service acts as accounting officer for the resources allocated to the prison service in accordance with the financial arrangements set out in the framework document.
	To reflect current business needs, I have approved the following increases to this delegated authority.
	
		
			  Amount and Conditions 
		
		
			 1. Capital 
			 New works £3 million plus VAT for any one project (previously £2 million plus VAT) 
			 Purchase of land £1 million for any one project (previously £150,000 plus VAT) 
			 2. Losses 
			 Write off losses coming under Section 36 of "Government Accounting" £50,000(previously £10,000)

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Merchants and Saddlers

Ben Bradshaw: With the consent of the Treasury, the schedule of fees for registration, retention and restoration of Agricultural Merchants and Saddlers with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain effective from January 2004 has been determined. This is given in the attached table:
	
		Fees
		
			 Application in respect of each premises Previous fee£ New fee£ 
		
		
			 Agricultural Merchants 
			 For registration under Article 5 232 232 
			 For retention of registration under Article 5 153 161 
			 For restoration of registration under Article 5 197 197 
			 Saddlers 
			 For registration under Article 5 127 127 
			 For retention of registration under Article 5 83 85 
			 For restoration of registration under Article 5 107 107

DEFENCE

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Geoff Hoon: I am pleased to report to the House the latest developments in our plans to provide the Royal Air Force with a modern replacement air refuelling capability. The future strategic tanker aircraft (FSTA) programme is planned to replace the RAF's ageing fleet of VC10 and TriStar aircraft around the end of the decade. We have been considering for some time whether the FSTA capability can be provided through a service-based contract with industry under the private finance initiative (PFI). I can now report that, following a detailed assessment process, a bid from AirTanker Ltd has been judged to offer the best prospective value for money PFI solution to the FSTA requirement. This decision marks a key milestone on this vital project.
	Under a PFI contract, industry would own and maintain the aircraft and provide training services, infrastructure and some personnel, whilst the RAF would undertake military operations. A PFI contract has the potential to offer considerable scope for innovation, not least because the contractor will be able to use aircraft not required by the RAF in peacetime to generate revenue, through commercial usage. Industry is also best placed to manage the through life risks of owning a fleet of modern jet airline aircraft. Two PFI consortiums submitted bids last year. AirTanker Ltd, which comprises Rolls Royce, EADS, Cobham and Thales, proposed a service using Airbus A330 aircraft, while the Tanker Transport Services Company (TTSC), which comprises BAE Systems, Boeing, Serco and Spectrum Capital, proposed a service using Boeing 767 aircraft. The competition was keenly fought. However, our judgment is that AirTanker's proposal offers the best prospective solution for the armed forces, the taxpayer and UK industry.
	We will now take forward single bidder negotiations with AirTanker Ltd, aimed at concluding a PFI contract as soon as possible. I should stress however, this remains a complex and challenging PFI programme. A number of detailed issues remain to be resolved and we look to AirTanker to work with us over the coming months to resolve the outstanding issues. A final decision on whether or not to proceed with a PFI contract will not be taken until these negotiations have been satisfactorily concluded. I will of course ensure that the House is kept fully in touch with significant developments.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Higher Education Funding

Charles Clarke: In my statement to the House on 8 January I set out measures to improve the student support arrangements that would operate alongside the introduction of variable tuition fees in higher education from autumn 2006. I said we would establish an independent review, working with the Office for Fair Access, to report to the House, on all aspects of the new arrangements based on the first three years' operation of the policy. I can now give more details on the draft remit of the review. During the passage of the Bill I would welcome comments and suggestions for amendments to this remit.
	The review, which will be conducted by a commission, will work on the basis of evidence from the first three years' operation of the variable fee arrangements. It will report to Parliament and will cover three main areas.
	The impact of the new arrangements on higher education institutions (HEIs):
	Charging policies, and how far HEIs have varied their fees.
	The additional income HEIs have raised and how they have used it.
	The provision of bursaries and other financial support.
	Any effect on the range, mix and take-up of subjects and qualifications offered, including any effect on foundation degrees, courses lasting longer than three years and the regional composition of HEI provision.
	A financial assessment of the relative impact on different parts of the higher education sector, and an analysis of future funding pressures.
	The impact of the new arrangements on students and prospective students
	Overall level of application and participation in higher education.
	Student support arrangements, including those for those from the poorest backgrounds as well as those above the threshold for Government support.
	Choice of institution and course, mode of study (full time/part time)
	Quality of teaching received, attainment, and likelihood of completing a course.
	Levels of debt; students' assessment of the value of HE, and rates of return from gaining a degree.
	Patterns in subsequent employment—particularly recruitment to the public services—or decisions to go on to further study.
	Any differential effect on particular groups; for example, lower socio economic groups; men and women; different ethnic groups; people with disabilities; people from different regions.
	Future policy
	Whether any improvements should be made to the graduate contribution scheme and the upper limit for tuition fees.
	What changes should be made to the arrangements for student support in order to ensure that students from the poorest family backgrounds on the most expensive courses receive support at a level equivalent to the maximum level of fees.
	I would expect the commission to work with the Office for Fair Access, as well as seeking views from a range of other interests. The Government will consider any report before submitting any recommendation to the House on raising the upper limit of the tuition fee.
	Work to establish baseline data for the review will begin in the 2004–05 academic year.